One of my first memories is of a bedroom I shared with my sister, next in line. There are five of us in the ‘siblinghood’ now, but at the time, there was only Kris and I. This bedroom, located in a small, sloped-roof home in Westfield, Maine, is forever fixed in my memory as one …
It’s supper time in our house. As soon as we all come together, it seems the tensions rise. Someone did something to someone else and it just continues to unravel from there. Words fly, accusations are tossed about. Insults become pointed. Sarcasm is certainly the lowest form of wit, Wilde got that right. Everyone thinks …
There is a problem with the church today- a problem that runs deep and wide and long. It’s created a chasm actually and an exodus. It’s a problem sourced by a history of church practices and traditions that serve to verify its authenticity as real and overt. It’s a problem all right. And that problem …
What the world needs now is truth-tellers. Shamelessly spreading the word- that the new normal is flawed, imperfect living done in the real world. Transparent style. What the world needs now is empathy. Compassion spreaders intent on understanding people and their complicated stories. Covering the world with a blanket of caring kindness. So that compassion …
I was dreading it. One more obligation. One more thing to do. And although I believe the mantra ‘we can do hard things’, there are times when I just want an easy thing. One.easy.thing. Amidst all the hard things in life. All those things that pull me eight ways to Sunday. And as I sat …
Introvert: a quiet, contemplative person who prefers solitude to socializing, who enjoys time spent in thought, who tends to express themselves better after careful consideration, who prefers work in isolation to working in groups. And to think, that half the world’s population is in this category of people. Isn’t it time the Church started to …
If God is love, why do Christians think He is unhappy with them so much of the time? I am sitting across from a lovely girlfriend. A dear friend. Who also happens to be a Christian and who knows the hidden dangers and obstacles, blessings and joys that this chosen life entails. And we are …
I guess you could say that Florida is in the Bible belt. And for sure you could say that I am in the middle of a Christian retirement community, as I am travelling with my parents. (And they are attending a Christian conference at a mid-sized Christian conference and Resort Center here in north-western Florida.) …
https://www.tumblr.com/guardiancomment/42024491123/chelsea-welch-the-us-waitress-who-was-fired-after Seems every time you turn around, there is something embarrassing posted on the Internet about a purported Christian, that is, a Christ-follower- or at the very least, that is someone seemingly with moral upstanding in the world of human interactions. And that is what Christ-followers preferably should be. Morally upright. Principled. Full of honor …
Solitude. Not loneliness of which I speak. Not isolation, nor seclusion. Neither separation, segregation, emptiness. Rather. The peaceful equilibrium without. That quiet moment spent. In prayer. In supplication, meditation, reflection. In contemplative thought. Tranquil moments that restore the soul within. Returning the body to its truest nature, a relaxed state of being. Reinstating the mind …
He sits beside me. Calm, quiet-like. In between me and his father. I have just nestled myself into a seat, in a row of black chairs connected by a small hinge along one side. We call them a pew. That’s church speak. They’re really just uncomfortable, black chairs with a slight cushion to ease the …
“Now, we all know what kind of person Mary was. She was quiet and gentle and kind, and the little girl who plays Mary should try to be that kind of person. I know that many of you would like to be Mary in our pageant, but of course we can only have one Mary. …
